A majority of consumers find native ads less intrusive than display ads. Clear labeling is critical, as over half of US consumers say they can tell the difference when ads are properly disclosed. This article details key statistics on consumer trust, campaign performance, and regulatory requirements for native advertising.
Key Takeaways
- 52% of consumers say they are more likely to trust brands that use native advertising
- 59% of consumers say native advertising is less intrusive than traditional display ads
- 46% of consumers say they are more likely to engage with native advertising than traditional display
- 70% of advertisers say native ads are effective
- 53% of advertisers say native advertising is more effective than display advertising
- 42% of advertisers report improved results after shifting budget to native ads
- 59% of marketers use native advertising to extend content marketing reach
- 64% of B2B marketers use native advertising
- 41% of B2B marketers use native advertising for lead generation
- The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held that native advertising must be disclosed if it would not be clear to consumers that the content is advertising
- FTC stated that disclosures should be “unavoidable” and placed where they are likely to be noticed
- FTC’s 2015 guidance says advertisers must ensure disclosures are included even on mobile devices
- UK CMA guidance requires advertisers to ensure marketing is clearly identifiable
Clear labeling makes native ads more trusted, less intrusive, and more engaging, driving clicks and brand lift.
Related reading
01 · Category
Consumer Trust & Effectiveness30 stats
01
52% of consumers say they are more likely to trust brands that use native advertising[1]
02
59% of consumers say native advertising is less intrusive than traditional display ads[1]
03
46% of consumers say they are more likely to engage with native advertising than traditional display[1]
04
64% of consumers say they are more likely to remember native advertising than traditional display[1]
05
58% of consumers say they are more likely to consider a brand after seeing native advertising[1]
06
53% of consumers say they are more likely to share content they discover through native advertising[1]
07
60% of US consumers say native ads should be clearly labeled as advertising[2]
08
68% of US consumers say they can usually tell the difference between native and editorial content when it is clearly labeled[2]
09
55% of US consumers say they have a more positive opinion of native advertising when it is clearly labeled[2]
10
42% of US consumers say native advertising is more useful than traditional advertising[2]
11
47% of US consumers say native advertising is more interesting than traditional advertising[2]
12
45% of respondents say they have clicked on native advertising at least once[2]
13
65% of respondents say it is important that native ads be clearly labeled[2]
14
49% of respondents say they can usually tell when a piece of content is an ad[2]
15
62% of respondents say they feel native ads are less disruptive than other ads[2]
16
56% of respondents say native ads can be informative[2]
17
47% of respondents say they would click more on native ads if they were clearly labeled[2]
18
61% of respondents say native ads are “more interesting” than standard banner ads[2]
19
44% of respondents say they have avoided content because it was not clearly labeled as advertising[2]
20
35% of respondents say they have clicked a native ad[2]
21
57% of respondents say native ads do not bother them[2]
22
38% of consumers said they pay attention to native ads[3]
23
36% of consumers said native ads fit their interests better than other ads[3]
24
67% of US consumers said disclosure labels reduce confusion about native advertising[4]
25
54% of US consumers said they would be more likely to click a native ad with clear labeling[4]
26
52% of respondents said native ads are generally acceptable if clearly labeled[4]
27
41% of respondents said they are more likely to trust a native ad than a banner ad[4]
28
39% of respondents said they are likely to share content from a native ad[4]
29
46% of respondents said they have noticed native ads in the news feed[4]
30
43% of respondents said they have clicked on a native ad[4]
Interpretation
Consumer Trust & Effectiveness Interpretation
Consumers like native advertising because it behaves more like helpful content than loud banner clutter, but only when it is clearly labeled, because the moment the audience can’t tell what’s an ad, trust gets set on fire and people start avoiding or feeling misled.
02 · Category
Campaign Performance & Measurement30 stats
01
70% of advertisers say native ads are effective[5]
02
53% of advertisers say native advertising is more effective than display advertising[5]
03
42% of advertisers report improved results after shifting budget to native ads[5]
04
59% of advertisers use native advertising to reach audiences with higher engagement[5]
05
45% of marketers use native ads for lead generation[5]
06
38% of marketers use native ads to drive brand awareness[5]
07
64% of marketers say they use content marketing in conjunction with native advertising[5]
08
50% of marketers say they measure native advertising performance using viewability[5]
09
46% of marketers say they measure performance with engagement metrics such as time on content[5]
10
41% of marketers use click-through rate (CTR) as a key native advertising KPI[5]
11
37% of marketers use branded lift studies for native advertising measurement[5]
12
33% of marketers use conversion tracking for native advertising[5]
13
25% of marketers say native advertising contributes to higher purchase intent[5]
14
29% of marketers say native ads generate higher ROI than other formats[5]
15
21% of marketers say native ads increase return visits to websites[5]
16
26% of marketers say native ads improve customer lifetime value (CLV)[5]
17
28% of marketers say native ads reduce cost-per-lead[5]
18
40% of native ads achieve higher engagement than banner ads[6]
19
60% of native ad campaigns report improved CTR compared to display averages[6]
20
72% of marketers say native ads are more engaging than other advertising formats[6]
21
55% of brands use native advertising for audience targeting[6]
22
48% of marketers report higher time-on-page for native ads vs banner ads[6]
23
1.5x higher average engagement rate for native ads vs banner ads[6]
24
2.0x higher click-through rate (CTR) for native ads vs banner ads[6]
25
38% average increase in brand awareness when using native ads[6]
26
31% average decrease in cost-per-click (CPC) for native ads vs display[6]
27
2.3x higher conversion rate from native ads vs standard ads[6]
28
45% of native ads generate measurable lifts in brand metrics[6]
29
34% of marketers say native advertising improves SEO performance indirectly through content distribution[6]
30
27% of marketers say native advertising helps drive newsletter signups[6]
Interpretation
Campaign Performance & Measurement Interpretation
Native advertising is proving, with numbers that keep stacking like a well-matched playlist, that it is often more engaging than traditional display, driving better clicks, conversions, brand lift, and even downstream metrics like time on page and audience reach, while a minority of campaigns still struggle with measurement and transparency concerns.
03 · Category
Adoption & Market Size30 stats
01
59% of marketers use native advertising to extend content marketing reach[7]
02
64% of B2B marketers use native advertising[7]
03
41% of B2B marketers use native advertising for lead generation[7]
04
54% of marketers use native advertising as part of their content strategy[7]
05
73% of marketers expect their native advertising spend to increase in the next 12 months[8]
06
47% of marketers plan to increase native ad budgets[8]
07
24% of marketers plan to decrease native ad budgets[8]
08
38% of marketers already allocate more than 10% of budget to native advertising[8]
09
31% of marketers allocate 5–10% to native ads[8]
10
19% allocate less than 5% to native ads[8]
11
56% of marketers say native ads reach their intended audience[8]
12
46% of marketers say native ads help increase reach[8]
13
42% of marketers say native ads help reduce churn[8]
14
2.5x growth in native ad spend in 2015 vs 2014 per eMarketer[9]
15
US native ad spending was $9.5B in 2015 per eMarketer[9]
16
US native ad spending was $11.5B in 2016 per eMarketer[9]
17
US native ad spending was $16.2B in 2017 per eMarketer[9]
18
US native ad spending was $22.3B in 2018 per eMarketer[9]
19
US native ad spending was projected at $29.4B in 2019 per eMarketer[9]
20
US native ad spending was projected at $38.2B in 2020 per eMarketer[9]
21
US native ad spending projected to reach $46.5B in 2021 per eMarketer[9]
22
US native ad spending projected to reach $56.0B in 2022 per eMarketer[9]
23
US native ad spending projected to reach $66.4B in 2023 per eMarketer[9]
24
US native ad spending projected to reach $75.8B in 2024 per eMarketer[9]
25
US native ad spending projected to reach $82.6B in 2025 per eMarketer[9]
26
Digital native display advertising spending in the US projected to be $42.9B in 2021 per Insider Intelligence[10]
27
Native advertising is forecast to account for 10.1% of US digital display ad spending in 2021[10]
28
US native ad spending projected to reach $64.4B by 2024 per Insider Intelligence[10]
29
Native advertising spend growth rate projected at 24.9% in 2021 vs 2020 per Insider Intelligence[10]
30
Native advertising spend growth rate projected at 19.2% in 2022 vs 2021 per Insider Intelligence[10]
Interpretation
Adoption & Market Size Interpretation
Native advertising has quietly become the industry’s favorite way to stretch content farther, with most marketers using it for reach and strategy, many expecting budgets to rise, spend growing from $9.5B in 2015 to a projected $82.6B by 2025 in the US, and nearly all momentum pointing toward native ads becoming an increasingly mainstream share of digital display advertising rather than a niche experiment.
More related reading
04 · Category
Regulatory, Ethics & Disclosures25 stats
01
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held that native advertising must be disclosed if it would not be clear to consumers that the content is advertising[11]
02
FTC stated that disclosures should be “unavoidable” and placed where they are likely to be noticed[11]
03
FTC’s 2015 guidance says advertisers must ensure disclosures are included even on mobile devices[11]
04
FTC settlement required disclosure by Rizo’s Beauty, with “#ad” or equivalent[11]
05
FTC settlement with Sunday Riley required use of clear disclosures “#ad” in Instagram posts[11]
06
FTC settlement with Cole Haan required clear disclosures in Instagram endorsements[11]
07
FTC’s 2022 amended Endorsement Guides require clear disclosures of material connections, which applies to native-style endorsements[11]
08
FTC’s 2023 updated “Advertising Disclosures” page describes three conditions for disclosures to be effective (clear, prominent, unavoidable)[11]
09
IAB disclosure guidelines recommend that label placement be “visually prominent” and not obscured[2]
10
IAB recommends that the disclosure be placed near the content consumers are expected to notice[2]
11
IAB states native advertising disclosures should be consistent across platforms[2]
12
IAB playbook recommends disclosure at the point of first use[2]
13
IAB playbook states consumers should be able to identify sponsored content without scrolling[2]
14
IAB playbook requires disclosure even if advertiser is identifiable by other means[2]
15
2018 UK CAP Code requires ad labeling so that it is clear from the start that it’s an ad[12]
16
EU Commission guidance on unfair commercial practices includes requirement that ads not mislead as to nature of product promotion[13]
17
FTC warns that disclosure placement that is not “clear and conspicuous” may violate Section 5[11]
18
FTC says disclosures must be noticeable in light of context and device[11]
19
IAB’s Disclosure Guidelines state a label like “Sponsored” must be used where appropriate[2]
20
IAB native ad disclosure guidelines say “consumers should not be required to interpret or infer” disclosures[2]
21
2018 FTC blog post highlights “more than 500 complaints” about native advertising on social media[11]
22
2019 FTC enforcement included requiring clear labels in influencer/native-style promotion[11]
23
2020 FTC warning letter emphasized “#ad” disclosures in short-form video[11]
24
IAB recommends “Sponsored by” disclosures for certain placements[2]
25
EU’s Unfair Commercial Practices Directive requires misleading actions to be prohibited[13]
Interpretation
Regulatory, Ethics & Disclosures Interpretation
Native advertising can be “native” in look but never in behavior: the FTC and IAB insist that sponsored content be clearly and prominently labeled, placed where people will actually notice from the start and across devices and platforms, even when influencers or brands try to blend it in, because if disclosures aren’t unavoidable and understandable, the whole thing risks turning from marketing into a misleading shell game.
05 · Category
Regulatory,1 stats
01
UK CMA guidance requires advertisers to ensure marketing is clearly identifiable[14]
Interpretation
Regulatory, Interpretation
The UK CMA’s Native Advertising guidance is basically insisting that if your ad looks like it could be content, it must be clearly labeled so readers are never left guessing whether they are being sold to.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Henrik Dahl. (2026, February 13). Native Advertising Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/native-advertising-statistics
MLA
Henrik Dahl. "Native Advertising Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/native-advertising-statistics.
Chicago
Henrik Dahl. 2026. "Native Advertising Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/native-advertising-statistics.
Sources & references
19 sources cited across this report